Just like this body, this natural Stigmata—suspected to be connected to the Previous Era's Herrscher of Death—belonged entirely to Qiong-Seele.
She could feel the immense power contained within, yet she couldn't directly wield it.
It was as if the New World, hiding the great treasure One Piece, had been locked from the inside.
As the Stigmata's owner, Seele's more intuitive understanding of this situation felt like… she hadn't earned the Stigmata's recognition.
But that raised a question.
This Stigmata was purely a Stigmata, a part of 'Seele'. The character card provided by the system wouldn't come with any soul or will attached.
There was no Dark Seele inside Seele's Playhouse; how could an unconscious, inanimate object actively 'recognize' her?
The solution to this puzzle was actually quite simple: if there's no Dark Seele, just find one~
Scarlet hues blossomed right then.
The gradient azure-blue hair was stained a deep black-red by the Stigmata's energy, and within those sea-blue eyes, a crimson color suddenly flared and spread.
"Armor Combine!"
The dramatic, fluctuating tone of the declaration caused the madness in those scarlet eyes to pause momentarily, replaced by a flicker of utter confusion.
"Huh?"
What armor?
What combine?
No, wait!
[Where… where is this?]
The scene shifted like skipped frames. Just a moment ago, she had been frantic, separated from Seele, anxious like an ant on a hot pan, screaming and searching desperately within a collapsing World Bubble.
Yet, the next second, she abruptly appeared in a completely unfamiliar world.
And before her, a monster wreathed in sci-fi particle black mist—clearly nothing friendly—was closing in.
[The connection… it's restored!]
[Seele! Seele! Are you okay?]
Since her very beginning, this was the first time Dark Seele had been separated from Seele.
Even though it had only been a few minutes, every second had been agony, truly feeling like years.
The joy of reunion made it impossible for Dark Seele to hide her concern.
[The other me!?]
This familiar feeling… it was undoubtedly 'the other me'!
[I'm fine!]
[I'm fine.]
Two identical responses echoed simultaneously, deepening the confusion in Dark Seele's eyes.
[Seele? Two… Seeles?]
The link, like the stem of twin lotus flowers, was re-established. However, the original two flowers had somehow become three!
Could it be that she was worrying too much about that crybaby, and this was just an illusion born from her agitated emotions?
Dark Seele silently tried to sense both connections. But just like Monk Tang unable to distinguish the real Monkey King, both connections felt utterly real and undeniable!
After confirming the authenticity of both links several times, her confusion and astonishment gradually transformed into delight.
She didn't know what had happened, but now she had two Seeles!
[Seele, what exactly is going on?]
Masking the surge of joy beneath a facade of indifference and annoyance, acting as if her earlier panic was just an illusion and she wasn't worried at all, she initiated communication through their unique mental link.
[I… I don't know either.]
A voice, faint as a mosquito's buzz, was laced with bewilderment.
[It's a bit complicated, no time for details. Other me, you only have three minutes. Deal with these guys first.]
Qiong-Seele's plan had worked.
By forcefully impacting the Stigmata while switching to auto-battle mode, she could summon Dark Seele as a substitute fighter.
But Dark Seele controlling the body was like using a friend's support character in a game—there was a time limit!
She had actually anticipated this possibility.
After all, the character card she drew was the A-rank Swallowtail Phantasm, not the S-rank Stygian Nymph.
The soft, delicate voice was identical, yet the calmness and bravery it held were qualities the 'crybaby' lacked.
Therefore, Dark Seele almost instantly identified which of the two Seeles was the one she knew.
But…
[Heh~! Useless coward!]
The unfamiliar Seele was still Seele!
Instinctively hiding when faced with danger, praying inwardly for her help – that's exactly what 'Seele' would do!
Ahem, it wasn't that Dark Seele felt sorry for her or wanted to protect her, not at all. It was just that bullying Seele was the same as bullying her.
And bullying her…
A small, fair, delicate hand rose, catching the giant black scythe spinning down from above.
The exchange of thoughts far outpaced words; the three Seeles completed their mental communication while less than two seconds passed in the outside world.
Slowly raising her head, strands of black hair transitioning to dark red swayed, revealing crimson eyes like boiling blood.
"Have you decided how you want to die?"
She swung the scythe, slicing through a monster charging like a sharp arrow.
A crisp shattering sound accompanied drifting negative particles. The smile on Dark Seele's lips grew wider, more manic.
"Come play with Seele~!"
Like a red datura flower blooming, petals of dense, ink-like crimson energy spread out. Each petal was a slash, heavy and brutally beautiful.
The red-black scythe cleaved through the energy beam fired by a Voidranger Reaver—and through its body.
Shrill cries mingled with enraged roars as the Voidrangers scrambled over each other, desperate to tear her to shreds.
"Hahaha~!"
Amidst insane laughter thick with chilling killing intent, the dark scythe flashed with scarlet light, like a blood moon blooming in the darkness.
The Voidrangers were sliced apart, exploding violently.
You had to remember, Seele was equipped with relics!
'Auto-battle' wouldn't negate equipment effects.
Amidst the slaughter, Dark Seele quickly noticed something strange.
Qiong-Seele's body was a one-to-one replica of the original Seele's body down to the micro-quark level; Dark Seele hadn't even realized she'd switched bodies.
Yet, this body felt significantly stronger than usual!
"Huh?"
Xing and March 7th were both stunned.
Just moments ago, she was a gentle, lovely little sister, soft as a spring breeze. But after that strange action, she transformed into a bloodthirsty, berserk, mad beauty.
And her combat power had surged! Skyrocketed!
"Qiong, wha-what's going on?"
March 7th directed her puzzled gaze towards the grey-haired young man emerging from the cabin.
"I dunno!"
Qiong put on a look of complete ignorance, sticking firmly to his amnesiac persona.
Whether for safety reasons, like concealing a secret second life, or anticipating the inevitable flood of questions later, he didn't want his connection to Seele exposed.
"Hmm? Really?"
March 7th narrowed her eyes. "Then what did you mean by 'Armor Combine' just now?"
"Oh, that."
Qiong's expression relaxed slightly. "Seeing that girl's actions reminded me of something."
"Back home, there were righteous heroes who fought against evil. They could summon legendary armor and transform into Armored Heroes."
"One of them was called 'Heixixia'—Black Seele Ranger."
"Heixixia?… Shatter demons, quell violence, extinguish with furious bursts?"
Xing scratched the back of his head, seemingly recalling something vague from his 'subconscious'.
Hearing this, Qiong shot Xing a strange look before nodding. "That's right."
"This girl didn't summon any armor, though. Looks like she isn't from our hometown," Xing shook his head with slight disappointment, while Qiong narrowed his eyes.
Given his special connection with Xing, a little thought was enough to guess why Xing knew about it.
[System, how deep is our mental connection?]
[On the physical plane alone, not extremely high, but not low either. Xing can access some of the host's unguarded memories and knowledge through their subconscious and dreams.]
Seeing that even Xing remembered something related, March 7th finally let go of her suspicions.
She frowned, looking at Qiong who seemed slightly out of breath, as if he'd just finished a fight, and asked with concern:
"Did you encounter Voidrangers inside the cabin?"
"...Yeah, one slipped in, but I took care of it," Qiong replied after a few seconds' hesitation.
This was a lie.
The truth was, he wasn't yet accustomed to controlling two bodies simultaneously.
It felt even stranger and more discordant than suddenly having two extra arms and legs.
He still hadn't gotten used to it. If not for activating 'auto-battle', his own body would occasionally make micro-movements mirroring Seele's.
This was also why he hadn't immediately followed Seele out to join the battle.
A nimble figure trailing scarlet afterimages weaved through the enemies like a phantom; Heixixia was on a killing spree.
"Xing, March, let's go!"
Qiong forcefully threw his yo-yo. The instant it left his hand, his wrist flicked sharply.
This flick gave the yo-yo horizontal acceleration, creating an arc—this was Gun Kata… ahem, Yo-yo Kata!
Of course, such a technique required actual support from Honkai or Imaginary energy to succeed.
The yo-yo string wrapped around the Trampler's legs, binding it.
"Oh!"
Before Qiong even finished speaking, Xing had already charged out, baseball bat in hand.
With Heixixia joining the fight, it proceeded smoothly, becoming completely one-sided.
Just before the three-minute limit was up, Dark Seele landed another heavy blow on the Trampler. Coordinating with the trio, they shattered the Trampler directly.
The half-man, half-beast monster let out a final shriek and collapsed.
...
Rewind time slightly, by three minutes.
Docked near the Herta Space Station, aboard the Astral Express.
A middle-aged man with brown hair, glasses, and an aura radiating 'reliability' stood beside the conductor.
"What happened?"
The space station had suddenly erupted into chaos for unknown reasons. Noticing the anomaly, Welt and Pom-Pom discussed it and decided to dock the Express at the station's platform to investigate.
Gazing sternly at the Herta Space Station, rocked by explosions everywhere, Welt frowned slightly, habitually raising a hand to adjust his glasses.
At that exact moment, Dark Seele's "Armor Combine" and the Stigmata's liberation unleashed a violent surge of Honkai energy.
Sensing a familiar yet unfamiliar energy fluctuation, Welt's hand, raised before his face, abruptly froze. His composed expression flickered with confusion, which rapidly morphed into shock and horror.
"This energy... this energy is!"
Honkai!
The word leaped into his mind. Coupled with the sight of explosions and disaster before him, it was as if he suddenly understood everything. Old Yang felt a jolt run through him.
"Passenger Welt, what's wrong? Hey! Don't touch the speed lever!"
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 30 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin